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*** Email entry ***

EMAIL INTERVIEW Michael D'Amour & Ken Sinclair

Michael D'Amour, CEO Lumenergi

_____

The Critical Role of Smart Lighting
Lighting is the largest controllable energy segment in a building's
portfolio.


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Sinclair: I see that Lumenergi offers a next generation integrated lighting
management solution which helps enable a smarter energy grid. Can you tell
us a little about the role you see integrated lighting playing in the future
of energy efficiency?

D'Amour: Thanks Ken, happy to discuss. As I am sure you will agree,
achieving a smarter energy grid is a high priority for our nation. In
October, the Obama administration announced that it was going to award $3.4
billion in funding for grid modernization through the Smart Grid Investment
Grant awards, which will be complemented by $4.7 billion in private money.
At the same time, federal mandates on real-time pricing tariffs are coming
down the pike, and unless customers want to be powerless to respond to these
higher dynamic prices, they will need to start monitoring and controlling
how they consume electricity.

Lighting is the largest controllable energy segment in a building's
portfolio, accounting for approximately 30 percent of commercial building
energy usage. These motivating factors have created an environment that is
primed for the broad adoption of intelligent lighting systems. While
intelligent lighting is an essential component of smart buildings and
intrinsically complements the development of a smarter energy grid, only
about three percent of lighting is intelligently managed today.

We aim to create energy efficient, demand response-enabled buildings that
can nimbly respond to ever changing electricity market conditions. Our
system is affordable, efficient, easy to use, and offers impressively fast
payback. We think that our solution, and others like it, is a key component
of a smart grid.

Sinclair: Very interesting, and I agree with your assertions. So, can you
tell me about what Lumenergi is offering and what makes you unique?

D'Amour: Sure. We provide customers with a fully integrated lighting
solution that takes the concept of smart lighting to the next level. Our
system helps customers achieve energy efficient, demand response-enabled
buildings by installing lighting systems that provide real time monitoring,
feedback, and control. From usage data, building managers can determine
where lighting is being improperly used and can modify the lighting directly
from the computer screen. Our patented, intelligent dimmable ballasts can
very easily replace traditional "dumb" ballasts during a lighting retrofit,
or can be incorporated into new construction.

Our smart ballasts are powered by our advanced Lighting Management Control
System. This system puts a greater level of control and functionality in the
hands of building managers and occupants, allowing them to save money
through more intelligent use of lighting and lower maintenance operation
costs. The system will email you when you have a light burned out, when you
are having a ballast problem or when a large room is due for re-lamping.
Also, it helps created a more enjoyable, customized, and visually pleasing
user experience.

The system offers a number of advantages over similar products on the
market. The system has an incredibly fast payback time - averaging between
one and three years before government incentives, which makes this a smart
financial choice for building managers looking to increase their energy
efficiency and optimize their buildings for demand response.

Our ballasts are compatible with the Lumenergi LMCS system and other
manufacturer's control systems. The ballasts can operate in either DALI or
industry-standard low voltage 0-10V control modes. They take a wide-range of
electrical inputs, ranging from 120V to 277V and even 48VDC for emergency
lighting applications. With their microprocessor controlled sensing, our
ballasts handle one to three lamp deployments of T5, T5HO or T8 lamps with a
single product model, iB-100. This provides great flexibility, dramatically
reduces stocking costs and eliminates installation mistakes.

Also, our two-way communication is a big bonus for building managers,
allowing them to monitor each individual light, which ensures that the whole
system is operating as efficiently as possible.

Sinclair: What kind of impact does using an intelligent lighting system have
on a building's overall energy usage?

D'Amour: Utilizing an intelligent lighting system like ours can save between
50-70% on lighting energy usage and cost, depending on what type of building
and system configuration the building manager chooses to incorporate. And it
is important to remember that we are able to do this without sacrificing
occupant comfort or the visual appeal of lighting. In fact, we have found
that many people prefer the lighting levels that our system provides, as it
enhances visual comfort, and allows individual occupants to adjust and tune
the lighting in their personal spaces.

Here is a list of ways that a smart lighting management system can help
buildings save energy and money:

Daylighting: Using light sensors inputs, the system adjusts light levels in
response to the availability of natural lighting in a room. Potential Energy
Savings: 35-45% in daylit areas.

Task Tuning: Task Tuning allows lighting designers to control individual
lighting according to task and working environments. The ability to
implement this kind of work and task lighting control strategy can save
considerable energy when implementing industry recognized, IES recommended
lighting levels or those levels specified by the lighting consultant or
engineer. Potential Energy Savings: 15-25%.

Scheduling: Using advanced scheduling, the system can provide the
appropriate lighting level for individual light in different parts of
buildings for different time of the day, day of the week and month, holidays
and special event through different seasons. Potential Energy Savings:
15-25%.

Lumen Maintenance: Lumen depreciation is the loss of light output as a
fluorescent or LED lamp ages. Lumen maintenance controls solve this problem
through reducing power during higher initial lamp output, then increasing
power as lamps age and degrade to maintain appropriate light levels. Lights
are no longer forced to produce more lumens than necessary to make up for
their end-of-life dimness. Potential Energy Savings: 7-10%.

Occupancy Sensing: Lights are dimmed to the off state when the system
detects that there are no longer occupants in a particular room or area. As
building occupants move from location to location, the system dynamically
responds to user-traffic patterns, providing the right level of light where
it's needed and shutting off areas which are vacant without startling
changes. Potential Energy Savings: 15-25%.

Personal Control: Through individual software clients, web-based interfaces
or IR remote controllers, the personal control capabilities allow
individuals to personalize the amount of dimming they prefer in their
offices or work areas within globally-set system limits. Potential Energy
Savings: 10-15%.

Load Shedding/Demand Response: Load Shedding, sometimes termed Demand Side
Management or Demand Response, allows lighting to be either adjusted
discreetly; within set limits in response to building energy demands; or,
dynamically in response to emergency signals or real time pricing signals to
monitor, shed and report (sub meter) on the actual reductions implemented
and their effect on building systems and consumption. Potential Energy
Savings: Energy Rebates.


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og?http://www.fieldserver.com> Sinclair: Walk our readers through the
process of installing an intelligent lighting system. Is it possible to
retrofit an existing system or do you have to start from scratch?

D'Amour: One of the great things about the Lumenergi system is that it is
simple to install, either as part of a building retrofit or during new
construction. One or more LMCS controllers, each capable of controlling
50,000 ft2 to 100,000 ft2 are mounted in convenient utility closets. They
are networked together to control the building as a whole through a single
LMCS server hub. If desired, the LMCS server may be connected to an existing
BMS through BACnet.

The next step is to install the intelligent ballasts. In retrofits, this is
a process of simply removing the original ballast and installing our more
sophisticated version, and then daisy chaining a wire to the floor
controller. The individual ballasts are controlled and operated using
standard DALI, which allows them to be controlled and to be monitored by the
control system or simple 0-10V analog control signals.

Once this is completed, the building manager will have total control over
the whole lighting system, with the ability to monitor and access data from
individual lights through a user-friendly software platform. The system has
built-in redundancy to be fault tolerant.

Sinclair: How does your intelligent lighting system work with BMS?

D'Amour: The Lumenergi system is an important complement to a BMS. Did you
know that 42 percent of cooling load is created due to heat generated by
lighting? Intelligent lighting control has a corresponding effect and
reduction on HVAC use.

Our system communicates to a BMS through BACnet. Through this communication,
we can actually make HVAC smarter. For example, we can make our occupancy
sensors' data available to the HVAC system, allowing the air conditioning to
be dialed back when no one is present. We can make occupancy sensor input
available to security systems as well, to improve security of the building.
In this way, the ubiquitous lighting network can be used to obviate the need
for additional sensors and home run wiring for sensors. Another interesting
example is that we can feed demand response information that we receive
through our smart grid interface to HVAC, effectively enabling HVAC systems
to shed load when they have this capability. As you can tell, the
opportunities are extensive for integrating an LMCS into an overall BMS.







*** Email entry ***

LEDs offer more in the terms of efficiency, cost effectiveness, safety, and
minimal environmental impact than any other form of lighting. LEDs do
hundreds of jobs and are found in thousands of devices. The rapid
advancement of the technology has created an extremely prosperous
environment for companies that manufacture, distribute, and design LED
lighting. New products are steadily streaming on to store shelves creating
success stories for thousands of companies jumping on the LED train.

As populations world-wide grow, so does the energy demand. Governments have
reacted with initiative to increase efficiency and reduce consumption.
This transition to LEDs as a part of the solution was made mainstream in
part due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. One of the major components of
the act was to promote the advancement of solid state lighting. The US
Secretary of Energy at the time was Dr. Samuel Bodman who noted that "a set
of revolutionary new technologies called solid state lighting offer
excellent prospects for meeting our future lighting needs in a less costly,
more efficient way than today's incandescent and even fluorescent fixtures."
Today, we have seen the conversion to LEDs in lighting applications have an
immediate, significant impact on energy use. Nations looking for a plan
quickly acknowledge LEDs as a simple method of meeting efficiency goals with
the added advantages of greater safety and financial advantages over the
status quo.

Here at LED Grow Master our sales have exponentially increased as much as
300% per year over the last 6 years. Other niche LED lighting companies
have experienced similar growth. There is no time like the present to jump
on the LED train. It's green and moving at the speed of light.







*** Email entry ***

Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor device which converts
electricity into light. LED lighting has been around since the 1960s, but is
just now beginning to appear in the residential market for space lighting.
At first white LEDs were only possible by "rainbow" groups of three LEDs --
red, green, and blue -- by controlling the current to each to yield an
overall white light.
Standard array 18
LED lighting diodesThis changed in 1993 when Nichia created a blue indium
gallium chip with a phosphor coating that is used to create the wave shift
necessary to emit white light from a single diode. This process is much less
expensive for the amount of light generated.

Each diode is about 1/4 inch in diameter and uses about ten milliamps to
operate at about a tenth of a watt. LEDs are small in size, but can be
grouped together for higher intensity applications. LED fixtures require a
driver which is analogous to the ballast in fluorescent fixtures. The
drivers are typically built into the fixture (like fluorescent ballasts) or
they are a plug transformer for portable (plug-in) fixtures. The plug-in
transformers allow the fixture to run on standard 120 volt alternating
current (AC), with a modest (about 15 to 20 percent) power loss.

The efficacy of a typical residential application LED is approximately 20
lumens per watt (LPW), though efficacies of up to 100 LPW have been created
in laboratory settings. Incandescent bulbs have an efficacy of about 15 LPW
and ENERGY STARR qualified compact fluorescents are about 60 LPW, depending
on the wattage and lamp type. Some manufacturers claim efficacies much
higher than 20 LPW; make sure to examine system efficacy, which accounts for
the power use of all components. In December 2006, the U.S. Department of
Energy studied the efficacy of four luminaries. All four fell short of the
manufacturers' claims; the study implies that manufacturers are relying on
measurements of how much light an isolated LED produces, rather than how
much light an LED luminaire actually delivers.

LEDs are better at placing light in a single direction than incandescent or
fluorescent bulbs. Because of their directional output, they have unique
design features that can be exploited by clever designs. LED strip lights
can be installed under counters, in hallways, and in staircases;
concentrated arrays can be used for room lighting. Waterproof, outdoor
fixtures are also available. Some manufacturers consider applications such
as gardens, walkways, and decorative fixtures outside garage doors to be the
most cost-efficient.

LED lights are more rugged and damage-resistant than compact fluorescents
and incandescent bulbs. LED lights don't flicker. They are very heat
sensitive; excessive heat or inappropriate applications dramatically reduce
both light output and lifetime. Uses include:

* Task and reading lamps
* Linear strip lighting (under kitchen cabinets)
* Recessed lighting/ceiling cans
* Porch/outdoor/landscaping lighting
* Art lighting
* Night lights
* Stair and walkway lighting
* Pendants and overhead
* Retrofit bulbs for lamps

Definitions and Terms


Term

Definition

Units

How to interpret


Color Temperature

Color of light

Kelvin (K)

Sunlight at sunrise is 1800K
100W Incandescent light bulb is 2850K
Overcast Sky is 6500K


Color Rendering Index (CRI)

Light's effect on color

Scale of 0 to 100 with sunlight at 100

The higher the number, the more "true" the color will look in that light


Brightness

The intensity of the light.

Lumens

The higher the lumens, the brighter the light


Power

Amount of electrical energy consumed

Watts

Lower the watts, the lower the energy consumed


Efficacy

The efficiency of the bulb to convert electricity into light

Lumens per Watt

More efficient bulbs provide more light using less energy





Mike Antheil

Mike Antheil

561.703.4345 Direct

mike@mikeantheil.com



*** Email entry ***

Cree Study Shows LED Lighting is Best Bet for Energy Efficiency
Source/Type: Solid State Lighting Design LED Lighting News - Company News Releases



December 17, 2009... New White Paper Demonstrates Energy and Environmental Advantages of LED Lighting in High-Volume Applications



Durham, North Carolina USAâ€" A new report on the life-cycle energy usage of energy-efficient lighting by Cree, Inc. shows that LED lighting products are now more efficient than traditional lighting products when compared across the high-volume applications of recessed downlighting and display spotlighting. Evaluating light fixtures and applications, the white paper’s energy comparisons demonstrate that LEDs offer clear advantages in terms of energy costs and environmental impact over traditional lighting such as incandescent, halogen and compact fluorescent bulbs. 



“As we face increasing environmental and cost concerns about our traditional energy sources, energy-efficient lighting continues to be a hot topic in today’s discussions on climate change and sustainability,” explained Monica Hansen, research scientist, Cree. “With 22 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. consumed by lighting, energy-efficient LED lighting offers a tremendous opportunity for savings.”



The conclusion of the Cree “Energy-Efficient Lifecycle White Paper” is that LEDs are the most efficient light source available today for the examined applications. They are also a greener solution when compared to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), as LEDs contain no toxic mercury. Citing recent studies conducted by Carnegie Mellon University and OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Cree’s paper assesses state-of-the-art LED fixtures to demonstrate the inherent improvements in lighting efficiency available when using fixtures designed specifically to use LEDs. Additionally, the study examines two of today’s dominant lighting applications, downlighting and spotlighting, in order to accurately determine the energy impacts of using LEDs. 



"An applications-based analysis of life-cycle energy use is more reflective of what users will experience," said Steven DenBaars, professor and co-director of the Solid State Lighting & Energy Center, University of California Santa Barbara and Cree technical advisor. "LED lighting is clearly the most efficient and the greenest light source for the applications discussed in this paper."



Highlights of the study include:



* The usage phase of energy-efficient lighting dominates the lifetime energy consumption â€" with 96 to 98 percent of energy used to generate light and less than four percent due to the manufacturing process.



* To meaningfully compare lighting efficiencies, lighting applications must be included, not just light sources. 
Today LEDs are the most efficient choice for the high-volume lighting applications of residential and commercial recessed downlights and narrow-beam spotlights.



* LED performance has improved swiftly, leading to rapidly rising efficacies and is projected to continue to outperform other lighting technologies by ever-widening margins. 



To view the entire study, please visit http://www.cree.com/lifecycle.

About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting.

Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting solutions, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications.

Cree's product families include recessed LED down lights, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices.

Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com



This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the possibility that savings may vary from expectations; customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree's products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 28, 2009, and subsequent filings.



Media Contact:


Michelle Murray







*** Email entry ***

Semiconductors play an important role in solving the planet's energy issues.
There are two distinct, but related, phenomena: the conversion of (sun)
light in electricity and the conversion of electrical power in visible
light. The first conversion is known as the photo-voltaic (PV) technology
and the second conversion is the one that is used by Light Emitting Diodes
(LED's) used in Solid State Lighting applications. Both conversions enjoy
considerable interest from scientists, governments, energy companies as well
as citizens. Clear is that both energy conversions can contribute
substantially in solving the availability and distribution of energy around
the planet.

A key factor for the successful acceptance (at least in terms of
economically feasibility) of both PV and LED's is the efficiency of these
two types of energy conversions. Indeed, the question arises are there
fundamental limitations to these energy conversions? For PV cells it has
been reported that the upper efficiency of on silicon based cells will run
at about 30%. For LED's there has not been reported so far a fundamental
barrier that would keep the LED away from 100% efficiency (however, the fact
that the device heats up during operation hints already to a less than 100%
efficient light conversion).

On the efficiency of PV cells I will come back in a future contribution, for
now I would like to focus on the efficiency of an LED. A LED is typically
constructed from a classical pn junction but in the LED case the p and n
material are separated by what is called an active zone that can be either
doped or intrinsic. The semiconductor material must be a direct band gap
semiconductor in order to have sufficient conversion efficiency[i]
asteword.htm?ver=327-1235-syntaxhighlighter2.3.6#_edn1> . By putting the LED
in a forward bias the electrons and holes that arrive in the active zone can
recombine in two different ways:

- a radiative recombination. It is this recombination that fuels the
light emission from the LED.

- Several other non-radiative recombination processes occur as well.
These reduce the amount of holes and electrons available for light emission.

There are other loss (non-radiative) mechanisms operating (such as
absorption of the photons by the semiconductor) that further reduce the
light generation efficiency.

Recently an article in the Journal of Applied Physics[ii]
asteword.htm?ver=327-1235-syntaxhighlighter2.3.6#_edn2> appeared that gives
good insight in the different factors that influence the power-light
conversion efficiency. An important factor is the so-called wall plug
efficiency, defined as follows:

Wall Plug Efficiency = emission power/electrical power

a pretty straightforward definition. In the article all the different
recombination and loss mechanisms are mathematically described and then put
together in one model for the LED. This model can then calculate the
behavior (and thus wall plug efficiency) of the LED device in terms of
operating conditions (temperature, current, voltage), material properties
(semiconductor material such as GaN or GaAS and doping) and LED structure
(thickness of the different layerings, metal contacts and lay out of the
active layer). This is of great help when optimizing the LED device for
conversion efficiency.

Let me summarize a few important conclusions from the article:

- There is not a fundamental reason why the power-light conversion
cannot be 100%. Even stronger, the conversion can be more than 100% (see
next point for explanation)! However, the high efficiencies may not always
in a practical operating window (for instance at the current densities the
LED needs to run because of a certain required light output per surface area
semiconductor).

- The energy of the photon may come not only because from the band
gap energy difference but phonons (thermal energy from the lattice) may
contribute as well. In that case the LED can act as a heat pump: the device
cools actually and can in that way extract heat from the environment and
achieve efficiency better than 100% (using the above wall plug efficiency
definition).

- Further improvements will be possible to increase the light output
of LED's.

Thus, we can expect to see in the coming years more developments coming to
improve the Solid State Light technology and this will be a very valuable
contribution to our energy strategy.







*** Email entry ***

In 3Q09, the increasing demand in LED backlight for NB and TV led to a
shortage in the supply of LED chips, and stabilized their prices, only the
white LEDs dropped slightly. Looking forward to Q4, as the capacity of
upstream chips has not ramped up in time, and demand has not been met,
LEDinside projects that the prices will likely remain flat amid the supply
shortage. Similarly for white LEDs, the insufficient chip capacity limits
price decline, and LEDinside indicates that the LED chip shortage and price
stability is expected last till 1Q10.

According to survey from LEDinside, prices of high-power LEDs (with
luminance efficacy above 80Lm/W) are quite resilient - this is due to robust
demand and stable supply from leading global LED makers. These high-power
LEDs are priced at $1.5-$2 in Q3, falling slightly by 4%. As the high-power
LEDs with luminance efficacy of 60-70Lm/W are mature products with more
abundant supply, their price drops are more substantial, down 8% QoQ, to
$0.6~$1.1.

http://www.ledinside.com/sites/www.ledinside.com/files/ledprice002_En.gif

LEDinside added that the strong demand of LEDs for large-sized backlight
applications and general lighting purposes has caused a strain in the LED
chip supply chain, and thus also stabilized the price of white LEDs; this
was particularly evident in LED backlights for TVs - not only were LED chips
in short supply, white-LEDs also faced shortages. In light of the above, LED
prices will likely sustain. Yet, if we look into new application segments in
the future, in order to expand the application of LED backlight, such as in
monitors, LED prices may need to reduce more drastically to compete with
that of CCFL.

LEDinside: Penetration of LED backlight for NB continued to grow in 3Q09;
LED demand is expected to expand

LEDinside reported that in Q3, the penetration of LED backlight in notebooks
has increased dramatically, thanks to NB brand vendors' aggressive
promotion. It is forecast that the penetration rate for the whole year will
reach 52%.

Japanese LED makers are still the primary supplier for LED chips used in
notebooks, and Nichia currently dominates the supply. The mainstream
specification of LED for notebooks is between 2000 to 2300mcd, with prices
ranging from $0.07 to $0.12. Due to short supply of high-brightness (In)GaN
chips, and price strategy of Japanese chip makers, price of white LED used
in notebooks only fell by 5% in Q3.

As for LED backlight in Netbooks, the current mainstream specification is
between 1800 to 2000mcd, priced around $0.05-$0.07, a 10% decline in 3Q09.
Despite its robust demand, the significant price drop was attributed to the
aggressive sales promotion in China.

Shipment increase in smartphones supported the price of LEDs for mobile
applications; therefore, prices only fell by a moderate 5% in Q3.

The increase in smartphone shipments not only improved the brightness
requirement of LEDs, but also increased the shipment of LEDs for mobile
applications. Moreover, LED chip shortage affected the supply chain, thus
eased LED packager's pressure to cut prices of white LEDs. In Q3, the price
was between $0.03~0.07 with a 5% slide.

High power LED price maintained in 3Q09

Despite the rapid improvements in its efficiency, prices of high power LEDs
still saw a moderate drop. As upstream chip makers shifted their capacity to
produce more mid-power LEDs because of the rising demand in TV backlight,
supply of high-power LEDs was affected as a result, therefore, prices of
high-power LEDs maintained in Q3.







*** Email entry ***

A typical commercial building's lighting averages 37-50% of its electrical
demand.



1 Billion fluorescent lamps are disposed of every year globally.



That's 50,000 pounds of mercury waste. It takes only 4 mg of mercury to
poison 7,000 gallons of water.



Enough mercury to pollute every gallon of water in the US & Canada.



70% of the nations electricity comes from the dirty coal burning plants.



Average Return On Investment (ROI) is 30-50%.



Energy savings averages 50-80%.



Lifetime of a fluorescent is 20-30,000 hrs; LED is 100,000 hrs.



No maintenance on re-lamping. The storage of bulbs, replacement parts, and
the logistics involved are hidden costs to any re-lamping project.



No low-level radiation or damaging UV rays.



Working temperatures of -20 - 140 degrees LED panels have an average
lifetime 6.2 times longer than fluorescents.



Meets or exceeds Energy Star standards in SSL and meeting the Dark Sky
Standards of the IDA.



Here are a few clear answers from our research & data :



SSL makes a difference in the way people see things.



SSL can make the same item more appealing to the eye.



The color rendering of CLGL SSL is superior to fluorescent lighting.



The general appearance is perceived as cleaner under SSL.



People find themselves more comfortable because of the way SSL mimics almost
all the characteristics of noon time sunlight.



With SSL you have the benefits of healthy natural sunlife without the harsh
UV radiation.









Case Studies:



United Supermarkets changed over 3,600 of their refrigerator and freezer
lights from fluorescent to LED. That equates to a cost savings of $633,000 a
year on energy and maintenance savings.



The expected ROI is 1.8 years. The combined environmental impact of the
47-store retrofit represents an annual 2.9-million pound reduction of carbon
dioxide emissions.



LAX Airport Officials switched to LEDs for their functional and outdoor
lighting. In turn they reduced their annual lighting costs by $55,000 and
their lifetime maintenance costs by $980,000.



An architect for the New Fushin Building in Hong Kong recently decided to
implement LED technology in their office lighting.



He used our panel technology in 600 panels as a test run. In the first year
the savings equaled $22,100 USD on lighting costs.



A cost reduction of $68,000 USD over their lifetime. A savings of $257,200
USD total over the lifetime of the fixtures.





If just 25% of fluorescent lighting fixtures in the U.S.

were converted to LEDs, we could:

l Prevent the release of green house gases equal to

10 million cars.

l Save 15 billion in electricity costs annually.

l Decommission 133 coal burning power plants.

l Reduce carbon emissions by 158 metric tons & avoid

releasing 5,700 pounds of airborne mercury.







They already light up Christmas trees, traffic signals, crosswalks and
vehicle brakes. And they may someday completely displace incandescent
lighting from the marketplace. This is because light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
are at least four times more energy efficient than standard incandescent
bulbs and about 25-50 times longer-lasting; other solid state lighting, such
as flat panel organic LEDs (OLEDs) are not far behind.

"The lighting industry is 'gung ho' about LED technology," says Dr. Guy
Newsham, who leads lighting research at the NRC Institute for Research in
Construction (NRC-IRC) in Ottawa. "They see LEDs as the light source of the
future and have invested vast amounts of money into it."

NRC-IRC's lighting group is working with an industry consortium to study the
potential applications of LEDs and OLEDs in office environments - possibly
the single most important commercial lighting market. "Cost is the biggest
barrier," says Dr. Newsham. "This market is currently dominated by
fluorescent lighting, which is just as efficient as white LEDs and much
cheaper. However, the U.S. Department of Energy predicts that LED prices
will eventually come down substantially and their efficiency will
practically double."

"Although it may be a while before solid-state lighting competes with
fluorescent lighting on a cost-benefit basis," he adds, "this gives us an
opportunity to start identifying office applications where they could
provide extra value for occupants that fluorescents can't."

Customize your colours

For example, unlike fluorescent lighting, it's easy to control the colour
emitted by LEDs. And, LEDs and OLEDs come in more flexible forms than
standard fluorescent tubes. "This means you could use solid-state lighting
in creative ways," says Dr. Newsham. "An office ceiling could glow and
change colour as the outside sky goes from blue to sunset. A cubicle could
change colour if an email arrives. Or, if there's a fire, all of the
cubicles on the evacuation route could turn red to guide people toward the
exit." He and his colleagues will explore whether such functionality is
beneficial for occupants.

So far, the NRC-IRC team has completed an LED colour preference experiment,
which involved a detailed one-sixth scale model of an office. "The
participants were allowed to choose any mix of red, green, blue, warm white
or cool white to see if there's any variation in the lighting colours that
people prefer," explains Dr. Erhan Dikel, who designed the model. "We also
exposed them to a set of fixed spectra to see how they would react. People
generally want a shade of white, but do they want a bluer, redder or
yellower white? LEDs would allow individuals to select their own
preference."

"In future, we may study whether a person's ability to choose a preferred
lighting colour has a measurable effect on their well-being or task
performance over a full day of exposure," says Dr. Newsham. "We might also
explore whether varying the spectrum throughout the day using LEDs can
improve the health of office workers, a potential mechanism suggested by
early explorations into the effect of light on human physiology."

They already light up Christmas trees, traffic signals, crosswalks and
vehicle brakes.

And they may someday completely displace incandescent lighting from the
marketplace.

This is because light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are at least four times more
energy efficient than standard incandescent bulbs and about 25-50 times
longer-lasting; other solid state lighting, such as flat panel organic LEDs
(OLEDs) are not far behind.

"The lighting industry is 'gung ho' about LED technology," says Dr. Guy
Newsham, who leads lighting research at the NRC Institute for Research in
Construction (NRC-IRC) in Ottawa. "They see LEDs as the light source of the
future and have invested vast amounts of money into it."

NRC-IRC's lighting group is working with an industry consortium to study the
potential applications of LEDs and OLEDs in office environments - possibly
the single most important commercial lighting market. "Cost is the biggest
barrier," says Dr. Newsham. "This market is currently dominated by
fluorescent lighting, which is just as efficient as white LEDs and much
cheaper. However, the U.S. Department of Energy predicts that LED prices
will eventually come down substantially and their efficiency will
practically double."

"Although it may be a while before solid-state lighting competes with
fluorescent lighting on a cost-benefit basis," he adds, "this gives us an
opportunity to start identifying office applications where they could
provide extra value for occupants that fluorescents can't."

Customize your colours

For example, unlike fluorescent lighting, it's easy to control the colour
emitted by LEDs. And, LEDs and OLEDs come in more flexible forms than
standard fluorescent tubes. "This means you could use solid-state lighting
in creative ways," says Dr. Newsham. "An office ceiling could glow and
change colour as the outside sky goes from blue to sunset. A cubicle could
change colour if an email arrives. Or, if there's a fire, all of the
cubicles on the evacuation route could turn red to guide people toward the
exit." He and his colleagues will explore whether such functionality is
beneficial for occupants.

So far, the NRC-IRC team has completed an LED colour preference experiment,
which involved a detailed one-sixth scale model of an office. "The
participants were allowed to choose any mix of red, green, blue, warm white
or cool white to see if there's any variation in the lighting colours that
people prefer," explains Dr. Erhan Dikel, who designed the model. "We also
exposed them to a set of fixed spectra to see how they would react. People
generally want a shade of white, but do they want a bluer, redder or
yellower white? LEDs would allow individuals to select their own
preference."

"In future, we may study whether a person's ability to choose a preferred
lighting colour has a measurable effect on their well-being or task
performance over a full day of exposure," says Dr. Newsham. "We might also
explore whether varying the spectrum throughout the day using LEDs can
improve the health of office workers, a potential mechanism suggested by
early explorations into the effect of light on human physiology."

Topics: Canada,
cost,
fluorescent,
green,
LED,
light,
marketplaace,







"If only half of worldwide lighting was converted to LED by 2025, power use
would be cut by 120 gigawatts,
saving $100 billion a year and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power
plants by 350 megatons a year."







*** Email entry ***

Energy Efficient Lighting

by David Nelson, AIA
David Nelson & Associates

Last updated: 11-23-2009


Within This Page


.. Introduction
lz#intro>

.. Description
lz#desc>

.. Application
lz#app>

.. Relevant
lz#rcas> Codes and Standards

.. Additional
lz#ar> Resources


Introduction


Besides affecting the physical
and emotional
well-being of the building occupants, a building's interior lighting system
is both a dominant consumer of electrical energy and a major source of
internal heat. In the United States about one-quarter of the electricity
budget is spent on lighting, or more than $37 billion annually. In
commercial buildings it normally accounts for more than 30% of the total
electrical energy consumed. Yet much of this expense can be avoided.

Specifying a high quality energy efficient lighting system that utilizes
both natural and electric
sources as well as lighting controls
can provide a
comfortable yet visually interesting environment for the occupants of a
space. Recently developed energy efficient lighting equipment such as
compact fluorescent lamps and "soft-start" electronic ballasts can be used
to help cut lighting operational costs 30% to 60% while enhancing lighting
quality, reducing environmental impacts
, and promoting health and
work productivity.

Back
lz#top> to top


Description


To achieve a quality lighting environment, carefully choose the equipment to
satisfy both performance
and aesthetics needs. Lighting
equipment selection should be based on a balance between the requirements of
the design and an effort to limit the number of fixture types and lamp types
in order to have reasonable
maintenance inventories. Lamp selection is based on efficacy (lumens per
watt), color temperature, color rendering index, life and lumen maintenance,
availability, switching, dimming capability, and cost. For example, many T8
and T5 linear fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps are excellent
choices for today's buildings because they are energy efficient, have great
color rendering properties, long life, and are readily available, easily
controllable and very affordable. High frequency electronic ballasts are
also important to visual performance because they reduce eyestrain and
fatigue. Frequencies in the 20 kHz range and higher provide smooth,
non-flickering lamp operation. Electronic ballasts are also responsible for
better lamp performance, extending life and improving color characteristics.
Luminaires are selected for their lighting effectiveness. This includes
distribution characteristics, efficiency, quality of construction,
aesthetics, and economics.


A. Energy Efficient Lamps Commonly Used Today


Energy efficient, fluorescent lamps

Energy efficient, fluorescent lamps


Fluorescent Lamps


Fluorescent Lamps are about 3 to 5 times as efficient as standard
incandescent lamps and can last about 10 to 20 times longer. To gain the
most efficiency, use current and proven equipment technology and install
fluorescent luminaires in places where they can be integrated with the
architecture , available
daylight , and switching or
dimming controls.

* Linear fluorescent lamps T5HO lamps are now used in many high bay
applications in place of H.I.D. lamps. These smaller diameter lamps have
replaced the T12 lamps that have dominated the market for the past 30 years.
These new lamps work well in luminaires that provide the general ambient
lighting for a space. The long and diffuse nature of these lamps provides
excellent surface lighting, and the smaller lamp diameters make for better
optical performance in many luminaires. Indirect/direct linear fluorescent
pendants and wall-mounted uplights are typical applications for these
sources. Care must be taken to minimize direct views of extremely bright
small-diameter lamps such as T5 and T5HO.
* Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) are often used as simple substitutes
for incandescent lamps due to their significantly longer life and better
energy efficiency. Self-ballasted, "screw-in" retrofit CFL lamps are
sometimes used in the energy saving retrofit market. Also, retrofit lamps
cannot be dimmed. However, the performance of screw-in lamps is usually not
as good as the separate lamp and ballast combination. Due to their small
size, CFL lamps are used in recessed luminaires, wall and ceiling mounted
fixtures, and even track lighting and task lighting. The diffuse nature of
the fluorescent lamp makes the CFL lamp a good choice for downlighting and
wall lighting (also referred to as "wall washing").
* Low mercury fluorescent lamps can be disposed of in landfills in
some states. In these states, lamps that have sufficiently low levels must
pass the testing procedure known as the Toxic Characteristic Leaching
Procedure (TCLP) test (see EPA
SW-846, "Test Methods
for Evaluating Solid Waste (Physical/Chemical Methods)", Chapter 7,
"Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure," Section 7.4, page seven-2).
However, many states have legislation pending that would not allow the
disposal of any product containing mercury in a landfill. Specifying a low
mercury product and then recycling that lamp at the end of its life offers
the best environmental solution to disposal of mercury-containing lamps.
There are many parts to a standard fluorescent lamp that can be recycled,
including the glass, metal, mercury, and phosphor.
* Inductive fluorescent lamps are white light sources with very good
color rendering and color temperature properties. These lamps are energy
efficient and offer extremely long life (over 100,000 hours), good lumen
maintenance characteristics, and instant-on capability. The lamp enclosure
is called a "vessel" and (shapes vary) coated on the inside with phosphor.
Dimming is already available in Europe and will be available in the near
future in the United States. They are powered by a small generator (about
the size of a fluorescent ballast) attached to the lamp via a short
fixed-length cable. The generator induces a current in the lamp which causes
it to glow-there are no electrodes to wear out. The larger, diffuse nature
of these sources makes them excellent for lighting larger volumes and
surfaces. They are often used in place of low- to medium-wattage high
intensity discharge sources because of the instant-on capability and reduced
maintenance associated with the longer lamp life. This lamp source has
promising application for indoor and outdoor lighting applications.

Fluorescent Lamp Links, Additional Educational Materials

Advanced Lighting Guidelines (ALG)

Federal Energy Management Program
(FEMP)
New Buildings Institute, Inc.

* Linear and compact fluorescent lamp catalogs:

* General Electric Linear Fluorescent Lamps
RODUCTLINE=Lamps_Linear%20Fluorescent&CHANNEL=Commercial>
* General Electric Compact Fluorescent Lamps
RODUCTLINE=Lamps_Compact%20Fluorescent&CHANNEL=Commercial>
* Osram Sylvania Fluorescent Technology


* Philips Fluorescent Lamps


* Low-mercury fluorescent lamp information:

* General Electric Environmental Products (Ecolux
ental/ecolux.htm> R)
* Osram Sylvania Reduced Mercury ECOLOGIC

R Lamps
* Philips Alto
R Lamp
Technology

* Induction lamp information:

* Osram Sylvania ICETRON
Fluorescent/Icetron/> R Inductively-Coupled Electrodeless Systems
* Philips QL Induction Lighting Systems


* Additional educational materials:

* Lighting Research
Center publications, School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute:

* T8 Fluorescent Lamps and Lighting Answers: T5FT Lamps and Ballasts,
NLPIP Lighting Answers.
* Screwbase Compact Fluorescent Lamps, NLPIP Specifier Reports, Vol.
7, No. 1, June 1999.
* CFL Downlights, NLPIP Specifier Reports, Vol. 3, No. 2, August 1995.


High-Intensity Discharge Lamps (HID)


Different HID metal halide lamps

Different HID metal halide lamps.
Photo courtesy of sea-of-green.com .

High-intensity discharge lamps (HID) are still one of the best performing
and most efficient lamps for lighting large areas or great distances. Metal
halide (white light) lamps are replacing high pressure sodium lamps in many
outdoor applications because white light sources can be 2 to 30 times more
effective in peripheral visual detection than yellow-orange sources like
high pressure sodium. Pulse initiated, or "pulse-start" metal halide lamps
provide better color stability and longer life than previous technologies.
PAR metal halide lamps with ceramic arc-tube enclosures are commonly used
for accent lighting and highlighting in large spaces, and are now commonly
used in retail applications. The small size of the metal halide arc-tube
allows for excellent optical control. However, the extreme brightness of the
metal halide lamp requires careful shielding and design.

Typically, HID lamps do not work well with occupancy sensors
because most HID lamps
take a long time to start each time they are switched off. Some HID lamps
(called "hot restrike") are special in that they can be restarted
immediately after being turned off, but if they are allowed to cool down,
they will take about 15 minutes to warm up just like regular lamps. Special
ballasts are available that allow the lights to be step-dimmed to 50% (or
another level)-these ballasts could be used with occupancy sensors (the
lights would be automatically dimmed to a set level when the room is
unoccupied).

HID Lamp Links

* HID lamp information:

* General Electric HID Lamps
RODUCTLINE=Lamps_High%20Intensity%20Discharge&CHANNEL=Commercial>
* Osram Sylvania HID Technology

* Philips HID Lamps


* Additional educational materials:

* Lighting Research
Center publications, School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute

* HID Accent Lighting Systems, NLPIP Specifier Reports, Vol. 4, No. 2,
October 1996.


Incandescent Lamps


Incandescent lamps are still used for accent and specialty lighting, where
the warm color, controlled brightness, instant-on, and dimming capabilities
of these sources is needed. Incandescent lamps can provide a "sparkle" that
is not characteristic of more diffuse fluorescent sources. PAR and
low-voltage lamps can provide good beam control, and if dimmed, can also
provide a reasonable lamp life. 130V-rated incandescent lamps are also
available which will last longer than their 120V counterparts when operated
at 120V (with only slightly reduced light output for the same wattage
rating). However, because of their lower energy efficiency and shorter lamp
life, incandescent lamps should be used carefully for lighting of specific
features. Some of the most effective lighting designs balance a small
quantity of incandescent accent lighting with a fluorescent ambient
(general) lighting system.


LED Lamps


LED lamps are the newest addition to the list of energy efficient light
sources. While LED lamps emit visible light in a very narrow spectral band,
they can produce "white light". This is accomplished with either a
red-blue-green array or a phosphor-coated blue LED lamp. LED lamps last
40,000 to 100,000 hours depending on color. The current challenges of the
LED source are a poor Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 65 or lower and poor
efficacy, often less than 30 lumens per watt. LED lamps have made their way
into numerous lighting applications including exit signs, traffic signals,
under-cabinet lights, and various decorative applications. Though still in
their infancy, LED lamp technologies are rapidly progressing and show
promise for the future. For more information on LED lighting and other solid
state lighting technologies visit the Department of Energy Solid State
Lighting Web site .

LED light strips for under-cabinet lighting, for cove lighting, for shelf
and cabinet interior lighting, and for edge lighting.

LED light strips for under-cabinet lighting, for cove lighting, for shelf
and cabinet interior lighting, and for edge lighting.
Photo courtesy of The LEDLight.com

LED Lamp Links

* LED lamp information:

* Lumileds
* Osram Sylvania LED Lamp Modules
ms/SpecialtySystems/>
* The LEDLight.com
* Philips Solid State Lighting
fit/index.php?main=us_en&parent=0&id=us_en_application_solutions&>
* Cree LED Lighting


B. Energy-Efficient Ballasts


Fluorescent Ballasts


* Rapid start ballasts are the most common type of fluorescent
ballast. These ballasts offer a long lamp life at a reasonable cost. They
have been used for years with lighting controls to provide energy savings.
* Instant start ballasts are usually the least expensive ballasts on
the market. The efficiency of instant start ballasts is higher than rapid
start ballasts, but lamp life is shorter, especially when the frequency of
starts is increased due to the use of controls. They are often used where
energy savings is the primary goal and lights are on continuously for very
long periods of time. One advantage of the instant start ballast is that the
lamps are wired in parallel, so that when one lamp on a multi-lamp ballast
burns out, the others remain illuminated.
* Program rapid start ballasts are some of the best to use for energy
efficiency and long lamp life. These ballasts are slightly more expensive
than standard rapid start ballasts, but use a "gentler" starting method so
that frequent starting lessens the reduction in rated lamp life. These
ballasts are recommended for smaller diameter fluorescent lamps and compact
fluorescent lamps. With the right lighting controls scheme, program start
ballasts can provide significant energy savings.
* Dimming electronic ballasts for linear fluorescent lamps usually
fall into two categories. The first type has a dimming range of 5% or 10% up
to 100% light output and is generally the least expensive. This ballast is
commonly used when the lowest light levels are not needed, or to achieve
energy savings by dimming the lights when there is plentiful daylight. The
second type of ballast, often referred to as an "architectural dimming
ballast," is more expensive and has a dimming range of 1% to 100% light
output. This ballast is used in situations where lower light levels are
desired.


Electronic High-Intensity Discharge Ballasts


Electronic high-intensity discharge ballasts (HID) for metal halide lamps
are now available for most lamps up to 150 watts. These ballasts should
improve lamp performance and offer a limited range of dimming to achieve
some energy savings.

Additional Ballast Information

* Ballast manufacturers:

* AC Electronics Compact Electronics
(fluorescent ballasts)
* Advance Transformer
Company (dimming/non-dimming fluorescent and HID ballasts)
* Hatch Transformers, Inc.
* Lutron Electronics Co, Inc.
(fluorescent dimming ballasts)
* Osram Sylvania Ballast Division
sts/>
* Panasonic
Electric Works Corporation of America (metal halide electronic ballasts)

* Additional educational materials:

* Lighting Research
Center publications, School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute

* Electronic Ballasts, NLPIP Specifier Reports, Vol. 8, No. 1, May
2000.
* Dimming Electronic Ballasts, NLPIP Specifier Reports, Vol. 7, No. 3,
October 1999.


C. Luminaires


Energy efficient luminaries with daylight dimming and occupancy sensors in
office spaces at GSA Central Office.

Energy efficient luminaries with daylight dimming and occupancy sensors in
office spaces at GSA Central Office.

A luminaire, or light fixture, is a unit consisting of one or more of the
following components:

* lamp(s) and lamp socket(s)
* ballast(s)
* reflective material
* lenses, refractors, louvers, blades, or other shielding.

An efficient luminaire optimizes the system performance of each of its
components. There are a few types of luminaires that offer opportunities for
energy conservation in a lighting system design. Many of these provide
indirect light to brighten the ceiling or are designed to brighten walls or
task surfaces. Most of them are fluorescent and are easily controlled for
further energy savings. Some examples are shown in the table below.


Type of Fluorescent Luminaire

Description

Benefits

Cautions

Applications


Indirect/Direct Linear Luminaire

Primarily indirect, pendant or wall mounted, T8, T5 or T5HO lamping

Soft, even illumination, good visual comfort, easily dimmed

Choose spacing for good ceiling brightness uniformity

High and low bay areas and classrooms



Indirect/Direct Decorative Luminaire

Typically compact fluorescent or induction lamping

Significant energy savings, performance comparable to incandescent

Select diffuser for good brightness uniformity on glowing elements

Small offices , lobbies
, waiting areas, atriums
, and corridors


Linear Strip Luminaire

Surface mounted or pendant mounted with or without side reflectors,
typically T8 lamping

Energy-efficient, small size, low-cost, easily dimmed

Best when concealed

In coves or wall slots, on top of cabinets, stacks or lockers, and
mechanical rooms


Task Luminaire

Linear wall mounted "under shelf" or "arm type"

Task lighting allows for lower ambient lighting levels

Provide appropriate task/ambient contrast ratios

Any task surface (desks, counters, workbenches, etc.)


Indirect Recessed Luminaire

Recessed (light is directed up toward top of housing and reflected back
down), typically 2' x 2' or 2' x 4', T8 or CFL biax lamping

Optimized for fewer lamps than typical recessed lensed troffer luminaires,
good visual comfort

Does not brighten ceiling, consider minor supplemental lighting (such as
wall sconces)

Corridors, open/private offices
(can replace standard troffer in many applications)


Recessed Wall Washer

Linear or round can-type, Linear or CFL lamping

Significant energy savings, performance better than incandescent

Best when paired or in groups, choose spacings carefully

Select wall surfaces in many room types


Recessed Downlight

Round can-type, CFL lamping

Significant energy savings, performance comparable to incandescent

Does not brighten the ceiling, can create light "scallop" on walls

Localized infill lighting, often combined with other luminaire types


Wall Sconces

Wall mounted, decorative, CFL lamping

Significant energy savings, performance comparable to incandescent

Select diffuser for good brightness uniformity on glowing elements

Lobbies , corridors, conference rooms
, etc.

Back
lz#top> to top


Application


Energy efficient lighting can be installed in new construction,
modernization, and repair and alternation projects. It is applicable to all
building types and space types, particularly educational
facilities, office
buildings, health
facilities, research
facilities, warehouses
, libraries
, and courthouses
.

There are several programs in place to provide design guidelines and
recognition for energy-efficient buildings. Many of these are
government-supported.

.. Energy StarR Program: This program,
supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages
energy-efficiency in new and existing commercial buildings. Participants,
which in the past have included schools, retail and hospitality
establishments, and industry and government facilities, are provided with
guidance and support.

.. The Federal Energy Management
Program (FEMP): FEMP promotes the conservation of energy and water, and the
use of renewable energy sources by government agencies. FEMP is motivated in
part by the January 24, 2007 Executive Order 13423,
"Strengthening Federal
Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management" which calls for
significant and quantified energy reductions in government energy
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. FEMP has established and
encouraged industry partnerships, incentive programs, and educational
opportunities which benefit the private sector as well.

.. U.S. Green Building Council Leadership
in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEEDR) Building Rating System: LEEDR provides
developers and designers with guidelines and a checklist-type method for
achieving high standards in sustainable building design. The system can also
be used for calculating or improving the rating of an existing building.

Back
lz#top> to top


Relevant Codes and Standards


.. 10 CFR
434-Energy
Code for New Federal Commercial and Multi-Family High Rise Residential
Energy Performance Standards

.. ASHRAE/IESNA
Standard
90.1-Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings

.. Energy Policy Act of
2005 (PDF 1.9 MB, 550 pgs)

.. Executive Order
13423, "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation
Management"

.. Executive
Order 13423, Technical Guidance

.. Federal
Lighting Guide

.. IESNA
Lighting Handbook

.. IESNA
Recommended Practice RP-1, Office Lighting

.. IESNA
Recommended Practice RP-16, Nomenclature and Definitions for Illumination
Engineering

.. UFC 3-530-01 Design:
Interior and Exterior
Lighting and Controls

.. UFGS 26 51 00 Interior
Lighting

Back
lz#top> to top


Additional Resources


WBDG


Building / Space Types


Applicable and relevant to all building types
and space types
.


Design Objectives


Aesthetics , Cost-Effective
, Functional / Operational
, Historic
Preservation-Update
Building Systems Appropriately, Productive
-Provide Comfortable
Environments, Secure / Safe ,
Sustainable -Optimize
Energy Use, Sustainable -Enhance Indoor
Environmental Quality, Sustainable
-Optimize Operational and
Maintenance Practices


Products and Systems


Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers:

.. 26 50 00 (16500)
Lighting


Project Management


Building Commissioning,
Project Planning and
Development, Project Delivery and
Controls


Federal Programs and Services


.. Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia
(DSCP)-Manages all
energy-efficient lighting products for the entire Federal Government. Phone:
(800) DLA-BULB

.. Energy StarR Program

.. FEMP Energy-Efficient Products, Energy Efficiency Requirements,

Lighting Technologies-Contains recommendations on lighting technologies,
including fluorescent luminaires, and selecting lighting controls for
offices and public buildings

.. GSA Federal Supply Service's Environmental Products and
ntentId=25421> Services Guide

.. Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory-Lighting Research Group


Organizations/Associations


.. Federal Energy Management
Program (FEMP)

.. Heschong Mahone Group, Inc.

.. Illuminating Engineering Society of North
America (IESNA)

.. IESNA Lighting Handbook
,
9th Edition, Chapter 10, Quality of the Visual Environment (QVE)

.. International Association of
Energy-Efficient Lighting (IAEEL)

.. International Association of Lighting
Designers (IALD)

.. Light Right Consortium

.. National Lighting Bureau "High-Benefit
Lighting"

.. New Buildings Institute, Inc.


Products Manufacturers and Suppliers


.. Columbia Lighting

.. Cooper Lighting

.. GE Lighting

.. Hubbell Inc.

.. Lithonia Lighting

.. Osram Sylvania

.. Philips Lighting

.. Progress Lighting

.. Thomas Lighting

.. Venture Lighting International,
Inc.


Publications


.. Architectural Graphic Standards (AGS), 11th Edition by John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.: The American Institute of Architects, March 2007.

.. Advanced Lighting Guidelines (ALG)


.. The Architect's Guide to
Energy Conserving Products and Systems

.. E Source Emerging Technology Series
(available with membership
only)

.. "Practical Control Strategies for Harvesting Daylight Savings"
ER-00-6

.. Public
Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program-Technical briefs available free of
charge made possible by California Energy Commission's PIER program.

.. PIER-TB-1
Classroom
Lighting

.. PIER-TB-5 Up with CFL Downlights


.. PIER-TB-9 Hybrid Lighting Fixtures


.. TI 811-16 Lighting Design



Others


.. Lighting Research Center (LRC), School
of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

.. National Lighting
Products Information Program







*** Email entry ***

They already light up Christmas trees, traffic signals, crosswalks and
vehicle brakes. And they may someday completely displace incandescent
lighting from the marketplace. This is because light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
are at least four times more energy efficient than standard incandescent
bulbs and about 25-50 times longer-lasting; other solid state lighting, such
as flat panel organic LEDs (OLEDs) are not far behind.

"The lighting industry is 'gung ho' about LED technology," says Dr. Guy
Newsham, who leads lighting research at the NRC Institute for Research in
Construction (NRC-IRC) in Ottawa. "They see LEDs as the light source of the
future and have invested vast amounts of money into it."

NRC-IRC's lighting group is working with an industry consortium to study the
potential applications of LEDs and OLEDs in office environments - possibly
the single most important commercial lighting market. "Cost is the biggest
barrier," says Dr. Newsham. "This market is currently dominated by
fluorescent lighting, which is just as efficient as white LEDs and much
cheaper. However, the U.S. Department of Energy predicts that LED prices
will eventually come down substantially and their efficiency will
practically double."

"Although it may be a while before solid-state lighting competes with
fluorescent lighting on a cost-benefit basis," he adds, "this gives us an
opportunity to start identifying office applications where they could
provide extra value for occupants that fluorescents can't."

Customize your colours

For example, unlike fluorescent lighting, it's easy to control the colour
emitted by LEDs. And, LEDs and OLEDs come in more flexible forms than
standard fluorescent tubes. "This means you could use solid-state lighting
in creative ways," says Dr. Newsham. "An office ceiling could glow and
change colour as the outside sky goes from blue to sunset. A cubicle could
change colour if an email arrives. Or, if there's a fire, all of the
cubicles on the evacuation route could turn red to guide people toward the
exit." He and his colleagues will explore whether such functionality is
beneficial for occupants.

So far, the NRC-IRC team has completed an LED colour preference experiment,
which involved a detailed one-sixth scale model of an office. "The
participants were allowed to choose any mix of red, green, blue, warm white
or cool white to see if there's any variation in the lighting colours that
people prefer," explains Dr. Erhan Dikel, who designed the model. "We also
exposed them to a set of fixed spectra to see how they would react. People
generally want a shade of white, but do they want a bluer, redder or
yellower white? LEDs would allow individuals to select their own
preference."

"In future, we may study whether a person's ability to choose a preferred
lighting colour has a measurable effect on their well-being or task
performance over a full day of exposure," says Dr. Newsham. "We might also
explore whether varying the spectrum throughout the day using LEDs can
improve the health of office workers, a potential mechanism suggested by
early explorations into the effect of light on human physiology."

They already light up Christmas trees, traffic signals, crosswalks and
vehicle brakes.

And they may someday completely displace incandescent lighting from the
marketplace.

This is because light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are at least four times more
energy efficient than standard incandescent bulbs and about 25-50 times
longer-lasting; other solid state lighting, such as flat panel organic LEDs
(OLEDs) are not far behind.

"The lighting industry is 'gung ho' about LED technology," says Dr. Guy
Newsham, who leads lighting research at the NRC Institute for Research in
Construction (NRC-IRC) in Ottawa. "They see LEDs as the light source of the
future and have invested vast amounts of money into it."

NRC-IRC's lighting group is working with an industry consortium to study the
potential applications of LEDs and OLEDs in office environments - possibly
the single most important commercial lighting market. "Cost is the biggest
barrier," says Dr. Newsham. "This market is currently dominated by
fluorescent lighting, which is just as efficient as white LEDs and much
cheaper. However, the U.S. Department of Energy predicts that LED prices
will eventually come down substantially and their efficiency will
practically double."

"Although it may be a while before solid-state lighting competes with
fluorescent lighting on a cost-benefit basis," he adds, "this gives us an
opportunity to start identifying office applications where they could
provide extra value for occupants that fluorescents can't."

Customize your colours

For example, unlike fluorescent lighting, it's easy to control the colour
emitted by LEDs. And, LEDs and OLEDs come in more flexible forms than
standard fluorescent tubes. "This means you could use solid-state lighting
in creative ways," says Dr. Newsham. "An office ceiling could glow and
change colour as the outside sky goes from blue to sunset. A cubicle could
change colour if an email arrives. Or, if there's a fire, all of the
cubicles on the evacuation route could turn red to guide people toward the
exit." He and his colleagues will explore whether such functionality is
beneficial for occupants.

So far, the NRC-IRC team has completed an LED colour preference experiment,
which involved a detailed one-sixth scale model of an office. "The
participants were allowed to choose any mix of red, green, blue, warm white
or cool white to see if there's any variation in the lighting colours that
people prefer," explains Dr. Erhan Dikel, who designed the model. "We also
exposed them to a set of fixed spectra to see how they would react. People
generally want a shade of white, but do they want a bluer, redder or
yellower white? LEDs would allow individuals to select their own
preference."

"In future, we may study whether a person's ability to choose a preferred
lighting colour has a measurable effect on their well-being or task
performance over a full day of exposure," says Dr. Newsham. "We might also
explore whether varying the spectrum throughout the day using LEDs can
improve the health of office workers, a potential mechanism suggested by
early explorations into the effect of light on human physiology."







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